Exploring Challenges of Assessing Pre-service Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 42, Issue 2, 2014, pages 147-166
The goal of this article is to report on the challenges the authors faced in designing an instrument aimed at measuring pre-service science teachers’ topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK).
The instrument was administered to 30 pre-service chemistry teachers.
The discussion focuses on the implications of the aforementioned PCK assessment tool for enhancing pre-service science teachers’ topic-specific PCK and the challenges associated with measuring and enhancing pre-service science teachers’ PCK.
Furthermore, the discussion focuses on the ways in which science-teacher educators can engage in transforming the concept of PCK and its use for research and professional development.
Finally, the findings suggest that the instrument can be used as a teaching tool to enhance pre-service science teachers’ topic-specific PCK along with some limitations.